Also known as...

Atari: Going out of business. In a fun way.

Umm.... Yeah. Just keep telling yourself that Harrison and everything will be just great until the walls come crashing around you at Atari. With that being said, good luck.

I'm excited for his move. Sony's a big enough giant that I won't notice any change from them due to Phil leaving, but I believe he can benefit Atari a lot, and I think they are on their way up. They just need to cut the crappy game projects and stick with their good stuff that still sells.

I had to rub eyes to check it's real.

Lets hope for more Dragonball Z games!

...

(god I hope not)

Give Phil free-reign over all your assets Atari. Just do it. Give him anything he wants. Including your actual asses, I don't care, just do it so he can make something of your company!

@Mit: Actually, I'm kind of scared. Phil was in charge of essentially what games we see in regards to the Sony World Wide Studios. Maybe Kaz will be awesome? Who knows? For all we know LittleBigPlanet and Home might be the last reach for the stars stuff out of Sony until a new guy comes along.

However, this move may actually be really fucking good for a third party developer.

Just imagine if Sega had nabbed him. Sonic might be really good again.

I respect the fella's moxy. He is right in that it is the best opportunity right now for him. He has the chance to come in and potentially turn around a company that is, to say the least, faltering. I'm being kind here. Harrison doesn't seem like the type to just coast and strive for complacency, looks like he saw a monumental challenge and couldn't resist the opportunity. Also, I'm sure that Atari are basically gonna let him "write his own checks", so to speak, the whole way through. Titanium balls, this one.

Y'know, I know it sounds crazy to call Atari the best opportunity in the industry, but I gotta admit I think he's right. The opportunity there with such a recognizable (although admittedly damaged), utterly iconic brand, the sheer potential there for something great to happen now that they're just starting from scratch, so to speak, I'm excited. It's a lot like starting your very own brand new company, only it comes with built in worldwide recognition, that can only grow and get better as they actually start to churn out decent,quality products. I trust Phil. Call me crazy, but I do.

well, phil harrison was exciting enough to listen to, during speeches, and stuff, and he seemed to be cool.

..but i dont actually know what he did, in terms of... like... ACTUAL work..

..is that just me?

...its not like he was the one designing games, or coming up with the features for home.. he just announced them... right?

I'm a cynical SOB sometimes, though you know what? I say go for that shit, Phil Harrison. Run headlong at the gates of Hell, why don't you.

The guy was an idea man's idea man at Sony, and he didn't get half the respect he might possibly have deserved. We'll never know if he deserved said respect, of course, because of Sony's labyrinthine corporate structure.

Given what he courageously said recently about SCEJ getting in the way of his team's growth (re: not letting the EyeToy breathe in Japan), I'd reckon he has . . . something of a plan at Atari. And since Atari is a (non-Japanese!) company that I couldn't care less about either way, it's the highest compliment I can pay him to say I'm looking forward to whatever him and the boys come up with!

Ride on, you beautiful ogreish bald man, you!

I better start buying up Atari stocks.

Im actually excited to see what Phil can do. I mean when you go to a company thats at rock bottom, theres really no where to go but up. And with all that he has done for Sony, i can't imagine what he'll do for Atari. Maybe they'll stop making 5 thousand DBZ games and start making new IPs.

And as for Alone in the Dark, im worried that that game is becoming to MacGuyver-ish. Unless you're actually playing AS MacGuyver then i guess thats cool, but it seems like theres too MUCH item creation shenanigans going on.

Just watch. Harrison will turn this company around and quite possible produce Game Of The Year material by the end of the year.

What is Harrison smoking? And where can I get it? To see Atari as anything other than an opportunity to lose a job rather quickly is madness. He must have some strong stuff.

If anyone can bring Atari out of the shitter, it's Phil Harrison. It's hard to believe those dicks in Japan fired him after he helped build the PlayStation brand, form the ground up, across the Western world over the the past 15 years. No one in America or Europe would've know what the hell a PlayStation was if it wasn't for him in part. After all that, canning him because he makes an off hand remark stating a simple fact. They were the ones who were DEAD WRONG about the market, and if anything they should've listened more closely to Phil, not fire him. Man I've heard Kaz was a over-sensitive prick but this was mind bending.

@schizogony: For which console(s)?
Serious question.

Wow, Alone in the Dark 5 looks pretty damn nice

I think what he means is, the Atari Brand has been smashed and crushed to the point where it no longer had any identity or standing whatsoever. So in a sense its like un-molded clay :P

Plus everywhere else people might expect so modicum of success, at Atari right now, I'm guessing pretty much anything goes.

Now Xbox doesn't have Peter Moore and Sony doesn't have Phil Harrison...sadface.

Atari has all the resources and brand recognition to be a big player. The problem stemmed from a severe lack of visionary leadership to steer the company towards a brighter future. Phil Harrison is the perfect candidate since he has experience with the development side of the industry.

Many executives that are hired from outside of the industry make big promises and never produce results because they have golden parachutes in their contracts to fall back on. Harrison is different because he has a vested interest in the videogame industry.

Wow, new job and the bullshit is still flowing from his mouth.

He does not look comfortable in jumpers! Reminds me of when William Hague called the shadow cabinet to a bonding session, and they were all trying to look casual. Still, at least there wasn't a baseball cap in sight.

The best Prime Minister we never had!!

Oh, and Alone in the Dark does look pretty good.

Wouldn't it be amazing if Phil gets his company's shit together immediately and creates a new Atari console? Jesus, that'd be some full circle storytelling right there.

For the sake of gaming (and to the legacy of Atari, albeit in name only), lets hope for the best for him and the company. After all, in its current state, there's only one direction this can go - I hope.

"The best opportunity [...]to redefine, re-focus and re-energize an incredible brand"
I take it Phil is into challenges. First helping Sony become huge, and now trying to 'save' Atari from sucking. He did really insult them, you know, saying that he is their cure. Not that I dislike Phil or anything, it's just.. fun.

I think Phil should install himself as the new Atari mascot. Every single game from here on out starring Phil Harrison! Every genre, multi-platform, every single game as Phil!

Regardless, I have Phaith in Phil.

Phil. Really now.

You have to respect the mans track record...and Atari stock is dirt cheap, I think it's worth throwing a few bucks into it.

I'm speachless, Atari?

@Islandkiwi: If I had the extra cash I would invest a small amount but Phil might be bitting off more than he can chew.

Makes sense, he did a lot at Sony and he probably felt he'd maxed out his potential there. So a move to a company in trouble would be a risk but also a challenge for him. Good on him for seeking new ways to improve the industry. If only more people of his experience did that.

@iamspoo:

It's trading at around 1.70 right now, skip a few lunches or something. I'm not looking for a quick profit, but I'm guessing this is a long-term win. Phil's obviously got cash, you can't tell me he couldn't have taken early retirement and walked away. This man has a vision of...something, and an admirable track record. I want in on the ground floor.

reviving the atari console market i see...

Phil strikes me as the kind of guy who would crank up his handicap in Goldeneye and still kick his friends' asses.......with one hand.

The man likes a challenge.

Well, he is right:

"redefine, re-focus and re-energize"

Notice all begin with "re". Let's face it, one of the biggest challenges in the industry right now.

That and dethroning WOW.

I can see him knocking at Sonys door again in a few months....

This decision brings his intelligence into question. Could he have really been that great over at Sony?

He's right, Atari's in the shitter right now. If anyone can help them it's Harrison

@ Islandwiki and others looking at Atari stock. Seriously, since you talked about a 1.7 stock price - you like many others are going to buy the wrong stock. Read this:

[messages.finance.yahoo.com]

While speaking of Atari (ATAR), Phil in reality joined
Infogrames (IFG), Atari's European parent.

Do NOT buy ATAR stock, it's just the US distribution now, has no money left and is facing delisting. All the assets, including the Atari.com name and logo belong to Infogrames (IFG).

You will thank me for warning you, believe me. Many people make this mistake and buy the wrong stock. If you believe in the new leadership, buy IFG.

Look at the official Atari group structure :

[corporate.infogrames.com]

Financial rant over. PayPal donations for sound financial advice welcome to repair my Voltron mech fleet :)

Heres to a new Atari console! 2600 +

I think Harrison can do it. One direction they could possibly go is to remake their old games again (ala Nintendo).

Related random fact:

Atari don't really want to sell games. I don't know that Atari want to do. Maybe build cars, or make movies?

Give him a black mock turtleneck, a pair of jeans and lets see what he can do with Atari's struggling brand.

Atari... coming back to consoles! END O WORLD!

OK - So does this mean the reurn of the 2600? Yes, I still have mine btw - I can't bring myself to get rid of it! Rock on Atari... *nostalgic memories*

For anyone (including you Kotaku) who supposedly support and love Harrison, stop being douchebaggy. He's not a moron.

Did he say - Atari?

Alls he's sayin' is that Atari will take it in the butt the best 'cause they're not in a postiion to argue. Plus, they'll pay him if they can get one game off of the ground.

I just hope Atari takes the gag out of his mouth that Sony put in. This guy is HILARIOUS when he can run wild.

@Quilt: Yes, that means that he was REALLY great @ sony... I have a lot more respect for Harrison than Moore... Moore seemed like he "jumped ship" just before the $1 billion loss was announced at MS and went to EA, already bloated with profit and games.

Harrison Left right after the announcement that the PS3 outsold the 360 for it's first year, and that they overtook the 360 for January, and that '08 would be Sony's year. Harrison left on a high note to go work for the most struggling gaming company that exists right now.

Go Phil, bring that brand to the top!